Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is often regarded as having exciting potential for the Islamic finance market. The region is home to more than 250mn Muslims (over 15% of the world’s Muslim population) and the youthful demographics and under-banked nature of many countries add to the attractiveness. Aside from the obvious religious aspects (ie compliance with shari’a… [Read more]
On this week’s Business Monitor Podcast we are joined by Lisa Lewin, Head of Africa Analysis, to hear about her ‘on the ground’ impressions after returning from a trip to Kenya. A burgeoning middle class and growing trade integration among East African nations suggest that several sectors stand to benefit from the highly attractive economic… [Read more]
On this week’s podcast, we return our attention to emerging markets, highlighting opportunities beyond the BRICs in EMEA- Europe, Middle East and Africa. Business Monitor’s Head of Country Risk and Financial Markets Justin Patrie, discusses the outlook for Egypt, Ghana and Turkey with Mark Schaltuper, Head of Europe Analysis, Liz Martins, Head of Middle East… [Read more]
The release of Q3 real GDP data in China reaffirms Business Monitor’s view that the Chinese economy is already in the midst of a very strong recovery. However, Stuart Allsopp from BMI’s Asia team cautions that this does not constitute an end to the country’s economic woes and highlights that deep structural imbalances persist.
So now we have a name for the single GCC currency (the Khaleeji) and a location for its central bank (Riyadh). Is it finally going to happen? The implications are potentially quite serious: the Gulf is one of the world’s largest holders of US dollar reserves, and, if it opts for a trade-weighted basket peg,… [Read more]
Brazil’s government appears to have finally crossed the Rubicon of greater state intervention in the banking sector, with President Lula replacing the head of state-run bank giant Banco do Brasil in early April. The new man for the job, Aldemir Bendine, takes over from Antonio Francisco de Lima Neto, as part of a wider government… [Read more]
At a recent eastern European banking sector conference, I was struck by the lack of doom and gloom among many of the fellow delegates. Yes, there was expressed concern about falling share prices and declining asset growth, but there was also an almost mantra-like quality about the way I was repeatedly told: ‘the fundamentals are… [Read more]
